This invention generally relates to apparatus for loading and unloading passengers from watercraft, and more particularly, to apparatus for loading and unloading passengers from watercraft which move along a predetermined path, such as in connection with boat rides in amusement parks. Specifically, the invention relates to apparatus of this type which include a rotary platform from which passengers can safely embark onto watercraft, and onto which passengers can safely disembark from watercraft, as the platform rotates.
Loading platforms for watercraft rides at amusement parks are known which include rotating disc-shaped platforms from which passengers can embark onto a more or less floating boat, or onto which a passenger can disembark from a boat. For example, an arrangement is disclosed in European patent application EP 137780 published Apr. 24, 1985 in which the amusement ride loading terminal comprises a revolving circular platform with the periphery of which watercraft become engaged for loading and unloading passengers. A drawback of such conventional arrangements is that the level of the floor of the boat is generally substantially lower than the surface of the rotating platform, and this, together with the fact that the passenger must generally step over a water gap between the periphery of the rotating platform and the boat, often acts as psychological, as well as physical, impediment to the rapid and efficient transfer of passengers to and from the watercraft.